For the first time, South Sudan and Kosovo have been recognized by the International Olympic Committee. Kosovo, which was a province of the former Yugoslavia, will have 8 athletes competing; and a good shot for a medal in women's judo: Majlinda Kelmendi is considered a favorite. She's ranked first in the world in her weight class.

(PHOTO: Workers set up camp at Santiago's Rio Mapocho/Mason Bryan, The Santiago Times)Chile nears 1 month without mail service as postal worker protests continue. This week local branches of the 5 unions representing Correos de Chile voted on whether to continue their strike into a 2nd month, rejecting the union's offer. For a week the workers have set up camp on the banks of Santiago's Río Mapocho displaying banners outlining their demands; framing the issue as a division of the rich & the poor. The strike’s main slogan? “Si tocan a uno, nos tocan a todos,” it reads - if it affects 1 of us, it affects all of us. (Read more at The Santiago Times)

WHO convenes emergency talks on MERS virus

(PHOTO: Saudi men walk to the King Fahad hospital in the city of Hofuf, east of the capital Riyadh on June 16, 2013/Fayez Nureldine)The World Health Organization announced Friday it had convened emergency talks on the enigmatic, deadly MERS virus, which is striking hardest in Saudi Arabia. The move comes amid concern about the potential impact of October's Islamic hajj pilgrimage, when millions of people from around the globe will head to & from Saudi Arabia. WHO health security chief Keiji Fukuda said the MERS meeting would take place Tuesday as a telephone conference & he told reporters it was a "proactive move". The meeting could decide whether to label MERS an international health emergency, he added. The first recorded MERS death was in June 2012 in Saudi Arabia & the number of infections has ticked up, with almost 20 per month in April, May & June taking it to 79. (Read more at Xinhua)

HUM HUMOR

"CLIMATE CHANGE: EVERYWHERE"

CARTOON: Peter Broelman, Australia/BROELMAN.com.au)

LINKS TO OTHER STORIES

Dreams and nightmares - Chinese leaders have come to realize the country should become a great paladin of the free market & democracy & embrace them strongly, just as the West is rejecting them because it's realizing they're backfiring. This is the "Chinese Dream" - working better than the American dream. Or is it just too fanciful? By Francesco Sisci

The South: Busy at the polls - South Korea's parliamentary polls will indicate how potent a national backlash is against President Lee Myung-bak's conservatism, perceived cronyism & pro-conglomerate policies, while offering insight into December's presidential vote. Desire for change in the macho milieu of politics in Seoul can be seen in a proliferation of female candidates. By Aidan Foster-Carter

Pakistan climbs 'wind' league - Pakistan is turning to wind power to help ease its desperate shortage of energy,& the country could soon be among the world's top 20 producers. Workers & farmers, their land taken for the turbine towers, may be the last to benefit. By Zofeen Ebrahim

SOUTH KOREA

Capital | SeoulFLAG DESCRIPTION: white with a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in the center; there is a different black trigram from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes) in each corner of the white field; the Korean national flag is called Taegukki; white is a traditional Korean color and represents peace and purity; the blue section represents the negative cosmic forces of the yin, while the red symbolizes the opposite postive forces of the yang; each trigram (kwae) denotes one of the four universal elements, which together express the principle of movement and harmony

Population | 48,508,972

Area | 98,480 SQ KM

Official Language | Korean

Holidays | Liberation Day, 15 August (1945)

Currency | South Korean won (KRW)

Time Zone | UTC +9

Best Time to Visit | September to November (autumn)

Connecting with the Culture | Rubbing shoulders with the locals at one of Seoul’s boisterous traditional markets; Wandering through Gyeongju, the ancient capital of the Silla kingdom; Early-morning jostling at Busan’s hectic fish market; Hitting the beach at Daecheon, for the best sand and seafood on the west coast; Exploring the past by visiting Jikjisa, a temple dating back to the 5th century; Hiking around spectacular Sereoksan National Park

Listen | to Park Dong-jin, leading voice of the pansori, traditional storytelling through music

Watch | Chichwaseon (Painted Fire), by director Im Kwon Taek, about a famous 19th century painter; Park Chan-wook’s JSA (Joint Security Area), a thriller about tensions on the border between North and South Korea

Characteristics | Big city Seoul; seafood and rice; the 38th Parallel; Confucious drinking in Itaewon; young salary-mad workers; the land between Japan and China

Surprises |The youngest person in the party always pours the drinks; when exchanging money, use your right hand – the left signals disrespect

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HUMNEWS: CLOSING THE GEOGRAPHIC GAP IN MEDIA. Human Media, 2017.
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